by KYW's David Madden
Who would have thought they’d find some history buried under I-95 at Girard Avenue? Specifically, a man made shipping canal that dates back to the 19th Century and helped to make Kensington a busy place back then.
Now, they’re documenting the find -- in advance of a major PennDOT reconstruction project.
They knew the old Aramingo Canal was there, but archaeologist Doug Mooney with the URS Corporation -- in charge of the dig -- was surprised to find a part of the wooden canal intact, underneath the foundation of a long gone part of an old shipyard.
"The Cramp Shipyard building is 20th century in age, whereas the canal is 19th Century and you can see just exactly how well parts of this canal are well preserved below the surface."
The dig will continue for a couple more weeks, hoping to find the bottom of the canal -- perhaps an artifact or two -- and document it all then refill the hole.
After that, PennDOT begins a $900 million rebuilding project of a three mile stretch of I-95, including the Girard Avenue interchange.
(photo: KYW's David Madden)
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